“The Government has moved to prevent the possibility of an arrest warrant being issued against the Pope during his state visit this autumn.
Sky News understands that Whitehall officials have been “seriously concerned” that campaigners would use international criminal rules to try to detain the Pontiff while he is in the UK. Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC were among those campaigners reported to be looking at the options for bringing a private prosecution in relation to the Pope’s alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Now Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has proposed changes to the rules on universal jurisdiction, a law that allows individuals to be prosecuted in the UK for serious offences such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture even if they were carried out abroad. The plans would mean the Director of Public Prosecutions would need to give his consent to any arrest warrant issued under universal jurisdiction. This would effectively mean taking that power out of the hands of the courts.
Ministers say the current rules are open to abuse because the evidence required to get a warrant is far below the threshold that would be needed to bring a prosecution. This has meant the rules are often used by those who wish to make a political statement or to cause embarrassment.”
Read more at Sky News (Thanks Tracey)
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so basically they are changing the rules because he is the head of the church and therefore “deserves it”? Another example of spineless law enforcement. No matter who you are if you are suspected of anything criminal you should face up to it. The church really needs to be put in it’s place because as we all know the one true god is the spaghetti monster and only it’s loyal followers should be exempt from the justice system.
Why, if this law is so easily open to abuse, has it never been amended before now?
I don’t believe that amending the law to bypass the decisions of a British court of law to protect one man is morally defendable. If there is reasonable cause to believe this man, and in the eyes of the law he is just a man, has covered up any crime then this should be fully investigated.
No man, no matter their social or religious position should be considered above the law. If he has something to hide then perhaps he shouldn’t visit a country which is ruled by law.
nice to see that, once again, our government is failing children and preventing prohibiting justice by bending the rules for the undeserved.the fact that they dont regard his crimes as serious, but to see the whole situation as a moves to ‘embarrass’ the pope is ridiculous, the pope should be embarrassed already. in regards to it being a political statement, i think it SHOULD be regarded as a political statement, this is apparently a democratic country where the government represent the people, for them to change the law in order to prevent the people from bringing their wishes into fruition is patently UNdemocratic. just another example of a self self serving body that is ruling OVER us. i wonder what would have happened to someone who was found to have been covering up for John Venables?
what a disgrace! if someone NEEDS to be protected from arrest doesn’t that tell you they have done something wrong? AHHH! there’s so much i could say about this but it would be such a long and angry post, so i wont!!!!!!
Arrest him because if he didn’t want it then he wouldn’t have covered it all up.
So they fail to arrest anyone over Ian Tomlinson’s death, and now they’re protecting an old man in a funny hat from arrest – not the best week for the British police. Anyway the pope clearly doesn’t need protection, when Mace Windu tried to arrest him in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith the pope totally fried his ass with his frikkin’ lightning powers.
What makes the Pope worthy of arrest anyway? Can anyone point to any real crimes or will they continue to just throw out claims such as “cover up” and “abuse” just because someone else may have mentioned them? Yes, there was abuse in the Church although to single out Pope Benedict XVI for blame is foolish and wrong. He has done more than any in the Vatican to bring these predator priests to justice and he is not guilty of any crime. If the UK was to be stupid enough to pull off a stunt like this, it would lose global respect and would become an international joke. To unjustly arrest a head of state and the spiritual leader of 1/5 of people in such a high profile visit would be madness. The Church has always been the target for its critics. Remember, Jesus was innocent and He was crucified
So if you murder a man in the street or protect several paedophiles from abusing children you’re immune to prosecution provided you have some links to the state, but if you hack in to a foreign government’s web site (and find that is planning an immoral war that it has never seen justice for), then you could go to jail for the rest of your life.
No wonder so few people vote for the mainstream parties; there is no sense of justice here
Surely, if the British Government is getting itchy feet over this.. they acknowledge that the pope actually did something that means he CAN be arrested.
´Ministers say the current rules are open to abuse.´ In this case is very-very Ironic!:(
Absolutely appaling attempt from this Minister. A man who single handedly tries to bend the Trias Politica into Uno Politica. Has he forgotten that he is voted to that position by the people to represent the people and not to bend the rules for one criminal?
Minister Ken Clarke: may your kids never be raped.
There isn’t a gaol big enough to house all the leaders of churches and governments who have in many eyes committed grave crimes against humanity
gee, that’s too bad… :/
“This has meant the rules are often used by those who wish to make a political statement or to cause embarrassment”
Yes, but if changed it will also people to get away with hiding and denying sexual abuse!!
I’d like to know if Justice Secretary Ken Clarke is a christian. They should force that anyone who is making this decision to be strictly an atheist!
Before you go all gang buster looking to arrest a man who hasn’t broken a law in your country, perhaps you should consider arresting Tony Blair for war crimes, or Margaret Tatcher for breach of international law?
Oh good, since that there’s no point at arresting the Pope at all. Why not you atheists just do something constructive.
Covering up child abuse is a crime, and if there is enough evidence to show that someone committed that crime, then they should be arrested, no matter who they are!
We’re nowhere near as advanced as a species as we think we are.
Doesn’t he have diplomatic immunity, given that this is a state visit?
@Danny:
How about this?:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/10/world/europe/10pope.html?scp=3&sq=pope%20letter&st=cse
This is a state visit BECAUSE it helps protect the Pope from arrest – here and anywhere else, since it bolsters his dubious claim to be a head of state. And all it cost the UK is millions of pounds we can’t afford, for events most of us will not be allowed to attend.
The law is beatable by those with enough power and influence behind them, no matter how heinous the crime…
lol the fact that the church was worried is hilarious. no country would actually arrest the pope, the political damage would be too great against the nation, but i applaud Professor Dawkins and Mr.Hitchens efforts for standing up for whats right.
I get quite annoyed that people attempt to turn this into a religious issue. If he covered up evidence of child abuse then he should go to jail and I don’t care what religion he is. If your sole basis for not investigating a crime is that the alleged perpetrator is a religious leader then you are morally bankrupt.
Sleepwalking into Fascism. Lalalalala
Google Hollie Greig
I’m a Catholic and I say that he ought to be arrested if he has committed a crime. Being a Pope doesn’t make him infallible (even the Church admits this). While we’re at it, throw in all the dysfunctional priests that have committed sexual abuse crimes. Perhaps arresting the pontiff and putting him on trial would assure the victims of the crime of sexual abuse finally get some sort of decent retribution.
We can’t have the pope embarrased by anyone other than his own stupid self can we? Ken Clarke should know that to be thought a fool is one thing and to open your mouth and give several finely worked examples is another. Why should a warant for arrest need the same burden of proof as prosecution? The law has never worked that way. It may be that arrest is necessary pending evidence for prosecution. Raising concerns about the activities of an organisation which is as rancid as nazism is not abuse of legal process and the british government should distance itslef from this protofascism. Let the pope turn up, make the catholics pay for it. The evidence so far is that he allowed pederasts to go free to reoffend ‘for the good of his church’. and he should be arrested and charged!!
” dont use condoms they spread aids ” – pope said this in a vist to africa freaking nuts !
To be honest, it makes me sick that you all have these opinions! The holy father is the Supreme Pontiff under the Lord Jesus and he is the most holy man on the earth, and to say he covered up child sex abuse is disgraceful! I am in NO WAY justifying what those Catholic Priests did, but all i am saying is, do not generalize the faith just because of a select few!
Here in Cumbria we had a Priest at our parish, he was arrested for child sex abuse committed 25 years ago, and the bishop knew, for this, i believe he should have been arrested! but the holy father is not to blame for the cover ups, and in the future i suggest that you consider what you say before you say it, as some Catholics may find that deeply, deeply offensive!
but the holy father is not to blame for the cover ups,
Well, he is head of the organisation and in his prior incarnation as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Inquisition) was specifically responsible for exactly that. I suggest you check out De delictis gravioribus. So, yes he is responsible for cover-ups. He was in charge of investigations into sexual misconduct for a quarter of a century, that was his job.
Some people find his conduct in this matter to be deeply, deeply offensive.
As for being the most holy man on earth, he was voted into the job for internal political reasons.
“and in the future i suggest that you consider what you say before you say it, as some Catholics may find that deeply, deeply offensive!”
Someone may be getting away with crimes relating to the sexual abuse of children, and you want us to be concerned about offending people who think the man in question divine?
“the holy father is not to blame for the cover ups”
Blind speculation… you know, until there is a trial to determine innocence/guilt.
This is an EVIDENT breach of the most important condition which the Justice System has maintained for Centuries!
THE LEGAL AND LAWFUL SYSTEMS SHOULD BE KEPT SEPARATE!
Who gives a shit if he is embarrassed HE ENDORSED UNLAWFUL ACTIONS, AIDED AND ABETTED THEM AND IS PROVEN TO HAVE BEEN!
This is an affront to the entire system!